Ideas for the Mom in Your Life

Moms work all year, cooking, cleaning, chaperoning, chauffeuring and everything in between. This Mother’s Day, let her kick her feet up and relax, because Mother’s Day is the perfect day to let the special woman in your life, whether she is your mother, grandmother, daughter, aunt or sister, just how much you appreciate all that they do throughout the year for you and the rest of your family.

If its mom’s car that’s in need of a clean, think about taking it to Car Wash on the Greens (3618 Lithia Pinecrest Rd., Valrico. 657-6500).

Salons & Spas

If food is the way to a man’s heart, pampering is the way to a woman’s. If mom could use some relaxation consider giving her a day of beauty by taking her or getting her gift cards to Bleu Salon (3472 Lithia Pinecrest Rd., Valrico. 244-0555; www.bleusalonandspa.com), Day Dreams (658 Oakfield Dr., Brandon. 657-2992; www.daydreamsdayspa.com), Charmville Day Spa (4312 Bell Shoals Rd., Valrico. 643-2400; www.charmvilledayspa.com).

Speaking of wine, why not drink it and paint at the same time? That’s exactly what you can do at a Sketch & Sip class(11248 Winthrop Main St., Ste. B, Riverview. 263-4576; www.sketchandsip.com). Take one with your mom this month.

Boyette Liquors (1124 Boyette Rd., Riverview. 661-1800) and Top Shelf Liquors (915 Lithia Pinecrest Rd., Brandon. 741-3315) are also two places where you can get mom a nice bottle of her favorite libation.

Another set of classes you can take with mom are at the Rolling Pin 2080 Badlands Dr., Brandon. 653-2418; www.rollingpinonline.com).

Photography

For the sentimental mom, something concrete that she can keep for years to come is the best gift. Family photos by Messerli Photography (662-2248; www.MesserliPhotography.com), which will be offering a 10 percent discount on print orders for Mother’s Day if they mention this ad when booking a session; Stephanie Sieboldt Photography (716-7308, http://stephaniesieboldt.typepad.com), Huth & Booth Photography (1210 Millenium Pkwy., Brandon. 571-2100; www.hbphoto.com) or Feldman’s Photography (685-4343, www.feldmansphotography.com) are sure to pull on mom’s heartstrings.

Gift Ideas

Art made by your kids is always a winner in any mom’s book at the Pottery Patch (2551 S.R. 60 E., Valrico. 643-0014; www.potterypatchstudio.com).

Other gift ideas for the woman who raised you include Premier Jewelry, sold by Equine Corral owner Terry Hunt (terryhunt@equinecorral.com; 486-1514), a special embroidered gift from Flair, Etc. (956-3480; www.flairetc.com), As Seen on TV & More (321 Brandon Town Center Mall, Brandon. 381-3911) or Tom Boy Tools, which specializes in pink tools (741-0413; www.tomboytools.info/corasimon).

And to burn off all the calories consumed with the wine, food and chocolate, consider giving Deb Peters at DP Fitness & Wellness a call (731-8767; www.dpfitness.org).